Jaehwa Bernardo

K-pop group Apink held the last stop of its 'The Origin: Apink' concert tour at the University of the Philippines Theater in Quezon City, May 10, 2026. Photo from Apink's X account

Article (news)

Apink ‘extra glad’ to end 15th anniversary tour in PH

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1778478355244APINK.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="K-pop group Apink held the last stop of its &#x27;The Origin: Apink&#x27; concert tour at the University of the Philippines Theater in Quezon City, May 10, 2026. Photo from Apink&#x27;s X account"/>K-pop group Apink held the last stop of its &#x27;The Origin: Apink&#x27; concert tour at the University of the Philippines Theater in Quezon City, May 10, 2026. Photo from Apink&#x27;s X account</div>In 2011, seven girls entered the K-pop scene with “I Don’t Know,” a debut single that quickly established their group’s signature cute and innocent image. Built on sweeping orchestral strings and climactic power notes, the song captured the frustration of harboring feelings for someone too oblivious to notice.Fifteen years later, those same familiar sounds and voices — now down to five members following the departure of two — echoed through the halls of the University of the Philippines Theater to open an affair steeped in nostalgia.Apink visited Manila on Sunday for their “The Origin: Apink” tour, a celebration of the group’s 15th anniversary and their first-ever solo concert in the country. For a show dedicated to revisiting the discography they have built over the years, there could hardly have been a more fitting opening number than their debut track.Sporting white boots and pink ensembles, Apink followed up “I Don’t Know” with more of the catchy bubblegum pop that defined their early years, performing fan favorites “BUBIBU” and “My My.”No matter which song Chorong, Bomi, Eunji, Namjoo and Hayoung launched into, the excitement of their fans, known as Pink Panda, remained palpable throughout the set. Fan chants — from roll calls of the members’ names to shouted lines from the songs — cut through the loud audio inside the intimate Quezon City venue.“It’s just the beginning but your energy is already really intense. Actually, I’m so touched to the point that I’m getting goosebumps right now,” the group’s leader Chorong said via an interpreter after the opening set.Chorong said she could immediately feel the fans’ excitement to see Apink — who last performed in the country in 2023 as part of a multi-act K-pop show — simply from their energy from the very beginning.<div>Hit songs</div>While it’s common for K-pop acts to gauge the crowd’s energy at the start of a show, often by prompting them to scream or cheer, Apink chose to skip the usual check-in, already convinced by what they had heard. Without delay, they went into one of their signature hits, “NoNoNo,” as bubbles drifted across the stage.It’s easy to see Apink’s years of experience reflected in their performances, with choreography that has clearly become muscle memory, delivered with ease, yet still engaging and fun to watch.What stands out even more are the members’ powerful vocals, especially main vocalist Eunji, who effortlessly handles the high notes and ad-libs. Vocals, of course, take center stage in more mellow numbers such as “Overwrite” and “Wishlist.”Another segment saw the group take on the concept of a soon-to-debut boy band, opening with a comedic VCR that set the tone for the transition. When they returned to the stage, the group appeared in black blazers and trousers, shifting into sharper choreography with a cover of TVXQ’s 2008 hit “Mirotic.”The sleek moves continued with “Fizzy Soda” and “Nothing” before the girls shed their blazers and transitioned into “Red Carpet,” complete with sensual chair choreography.The rest of the show (presented by Wish Us Luck Entertainment) unfolded with a string of hits, beginning with “%% (Eung Eung),” “Dilemma,” and “I’m So Sick” — songs from their later years that marked a deliberate shift away from their early innocent image toward a more mature and sophisticated sound.They then circled back to their sweeter classics with “LUV” and “Mr. Chu” — the latter arguably their biggest hit — before asking the crowd to stand for “Hush,” bringing a club-like atmosphere to the venue.<div>&#x27;Great&#x27; last show</div>As they closed out the main concert — later returning to the stage for the encore in jumpers and pink butterfly wings — the members expressed how much they had enjoyed the final stop of their tour, thanking fans for the energy that carried them through the night.“I actually want to remember this energy that you’re giving me so whenever the hard times come, I can remember this moment,” Bomi said.Chorong added: “Starting from this show, we really hope we have more time to meet our Philippine Pandas more often. And as mentioned a while ago, this is the last show of our tour, right? I think it’s great that we’re doing our last show here in the Philippines.”When the crowd broke into chants of “walang uuwi” (no one will go home), Eunji reminded fans that their families were waiting at home, before suddenly realizing it was Mother’s Day. She then turned to the audience to ask if there were any mothers present, eventually gifting one with a towel.Hayoung also thanked fans for all the gifts and food they received during their brief stay. “We’re really thankful for everything you prepared for us and I’ll make sure that I&#x27;m not going to take this for granted,” she said.“Because your energy was so hot, I thought, ‘Why did I come so late?’” Hayoung added.Namjoo, who delivered her closing message entirely in English, told Filipino fans: “Your energy and passion made us so incredibly happy today. I was extra glad that the final stop of our Apink tour is with all of you.”“Honestly, we feel really sorry it’s taken so long to visit you. Sorry. We wanna come see you much more in the future, and we wanna share so much more performances and memories with you,” she said.She also thanked her members for “loving each other and staying together through everything,” adding that they “all worked so hard,” while assuring fans: “Apink will continue on forever so whenever you&#x27;re tired, struggling or even when you feel happy, please come find comfort in us.”

Apink visited Manila on Sunday for their 'The Origin: Apink' tour, a celebration of the group’s 15th anniversary and their first-ever solo concert in the country.

Apink visited Manila on Sunday for their 'The Origin: Apink' tour, a celebration of the group’s 15th anniversary and their first-ever solo concert in the country.